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Saint Francis teen helps school in India VISIT TO BANGALORE SUBURB LEADS TO FUNDRAISING EFFORT By Andrea Gemmet
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angalore is known as the Silicon Valley of India, but in the shadow of its huge IT companies are Vivek Vinayak schools without electricity, let alone classroom computers. It was a startling discovery for Mountain View resident Vivek Vinayak, who saw the schools while he was visiting family in India last year. “I got a shock to see there was no running water or electricity, because the government wouldn’t pay for them,” said Vinayak, a junior at Saint Francis High School. Vinayak, 16, said he decided to help, so he’s tapped friends and family to raise money for one of the schools, Government Higher Primary School in Mahalaxmipuram, a suburb of Bangalore.
His Web site, www.tinyurl.com/ ghp-school, features photos, testimonials from his donors and Vinayak’s plans for the funds he raises. “I talked to the principal and said I wanted to help, and she was extremely grateful,” he said. Vinayak said he’s raised $1,000 so far, and sent a first installment of $200 to the school to cover several months of electricity, he said. He just sent a second check to pay for a new roof, and future installments will pay for books and other school supplies, he said. He’s hoping to expand his pool of donors by getting public service announcements placed on KLOK 1170 AM, a radio station that carries Indian programming. He’s also seeking ideas and help from his high school. “I want to raise awareness that there are places where basic needs are not met and if each one of us does something, we will make a difference,” Vinayak said. V
Student sees Rwanda up close TEN-DAY MEDICAL MISSION OPENED EYES OF MVHS SENIOR By Ellen Huet
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ince Cortinas, Jr., a senior at Mountain View High School, could never have predicted that coaching a Little League baseball team would lead to his first trip overseas. But one of the player’s parents, Drew Patterson, was involved with a group called Medical Mission for Children (MMFC) through Stanford Medical Center. Patterson invited Cortinas to come along on one of MMFC’s medical service trips to Gitwe, Rwanda, and Cortinas couldn’t turn down the opportunity to help others in need. A national medical service organization, MMFC connects doctors across the U.S. with hard-to-access areas where medical care is most needed, in countries such as Rwanda, Guatemala, Peru, Ukraine, Tanzania and India. In missions to Gitwe, most procedures are cleft lip and goiter surgeries for village residents who have no other access to such help. Cortinas, along with a team of surgeons and anesthesiologists from Stanford and Northwestern Universities, arrived in Kigali,
the capital of Rwanda, on Feb. 28, and spent 10 days in Gitwe, a small village about a two-hour drive away, where medical facilities were less than ideal. “They had a ‘hospital,’ but it was just a building with empty rooms,” Cortinas said. According to Cortinas, MMFC plans annual trips to Gitwe, but some are postponed because of unrest in the country. While in Gitwe, Cortinas was able to observe surgeries and took part in other medical tasks. The group also brought other supplies to Rwanda such as pens and paper, which seemed “like gold” to village residents, Cortinas said. He also helped install a computer system that will allow hospitals at Stanford and Northwestern to access medical forms from Gitwe, improving the quality of medical care in the village. Although the purpose of the trip focused on medical and technical help, Cortinas felt he benefited in other ways. “My favorite part of the trip for sure was visiting the elementary school in Gitwe,” he said. “When we rolled up, the kids just mobbed us — they were so excited.” V
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Photo of Dave Stein and Gil Grangier hiking to the summit of La Berra in the Preaples, canton Fribourg, Switzerland. Take a photo with the Mountain View Voice on your next trip and email to digitalads@paweekly.com APRIL 30, 2010 ■ MOUNTAIN VIEW VOICE ■
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